General Discussion Race Reports! » Grand Haven Triathlon - Sprint Course Rss Feed  
Moderators: k9car363, alicefoeller Reply

Grand Haven Triathlon - Sprint Course - TriathlonSprint


View Member's Race Log View other race reports
Grand Haven, Michigan
United States
Grand Haven Triathlon, LLC.
80F / 27C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 26m 6s
Overall Rank = 37/182
Age Group = M 35-39
Age Group Rank = 5/12
Pre-race routine:

Slept on my boat on the Grand Haven seawall as is my tradition before the GH race. Seeing as how I don't often sleep well the night before a race anyway, the idea doesn't bother me. Actually slept fairly well and didn't have to worry about driving down to the course or finding parking.
Event warmup:

Went out for about a 2 mile ride to get the shoes on the pedals. Walked to the beach, and then swam a few hundred yards to loosen up and adjust to the wetsuit.
Swim
  • 11m 40s
  • 756 meters
  • 01m 32s / 100 meters
Comments:

I would actually guess that I placed much higher both in my age group and overall in the actual swim portion, but GH doesn't monitor your time exiting the water. They record your time as you enter T1, which is over .5 miles away with a run. I got passed by numerous people as I huffed my way up to the transition area. Had to walk about 15 yards on the beach as the deep sand seemed to lock up my legs.
What would you do differently?:

Maybe start in the middle of the pack instead of the far outside. I was ahead of nearly everyone going out, but put on so much extra distance it didn't really help me. Also, get goggles dialed in better.
Transition 1
  • 00m 55s
Comments:

Not counting the run into T1 from water's edge, this was a great transition. I had one of the better T1 times of anyone, and I even stopped for a few seconds to put my race number belt on since I didn't wear it underneath my wetsuit this time.
What would you do differently?:

Nothing, *maybe* wear race number belt inside wetsuit.
Bike
  • 36m 34s
  • 12.4 miles
  • 20.35 mile/hr
Comments:

Pretty good ride for me. A little better than previously on getting feet into shoes, but not a great job getting them out before T2. Lost too much speed there.
What would you do differently?:

Need to practice getting in/out of bike shoes on bike more.
Transition 2
  • 00m 51s
Comments:

Pretty good T2. Again, one of the fastest in the whole race. Not many people were under 1:00 here.
What would you do differently?:

Work on getting out of bike shoes better.
Run
  • 28m 6s
  • 3.1 miles
  • 09m 04s  min/mile
Comments:

Just need more improvement at the run overall and I would be a pretty good triathlete. I did negative split each of the three minutes though, which is how it should be. However, this is the first of 3 tries at this course where I didn't walk any portion of the run.
What would you do differently?:

Work harder at running. I can't lose 5 minutes to competitors and expect to compete.
Post race
What limited your ability to perform faster:

Poor running.

Event comments:

Packet pickup was extremely cumbersome and seems to get less organized by the year. Takes a lot longer than any other race to complete this simple process. Volunteers seem ill informed for this part. However, volunteers on the course are great. Could have used a volunteer directing people down the finisher's chute, as multiple people cost themselves precious seconds finding the chute to run down, and instead almost ran back into the transition area through the "run out" gate.




Last updated: 2012-06-05 12:00 AM
Swimming
00:11:40 | 756 meters | 01m 32s / 100meters
Age Group: 5/12
Overall: 28/182
Performance: Average
I took this data from my Garmin watch rather than the GH Tri results, as I wanted to look at my swim individually without the long T1 run involved. Course was listed as .5 miles, so this seems pretty accurate.
Suit: Wetsuit
Course: I started on the outside of the pack this time to avoid any bunchup at the first buoy, which happened to me the last two years. This definitely helped, although I definitely added on lots of extra distance. I also probably swam a good 5-10 meters outside the rest of the pack until the final buoy. One goggle filled up with water, but I swam through it. Couldn't sight the shore well after the final buoy due to the sun being right in my eyes, but seemed to head in the right direction. By far the best swimming performance I have had in this particular tri.
Start type: Run Plus: Waves
Water temp: 63F / 17C Current: Low
200M Perf. Good Remainder: Good
Breathing: Good Drafting: Average
Waves: Average Navigation: Average
Rounding: Average
T1
Time: 00:55
Performance: Good
Cap removal: Good Helmet on/
Suit off:
Yes
Wetsuit stuck? No Run with bike: Yes
Jump on bike: No
Getting up to speed: Average
Biking
00:36:34 | 12.4 miles | 20.35 mile/hr
Age Group: 4/12
Overall: 29/182
Performance: Average
Garmin listed this as 12.48 miles, but that may have included part of a run into T2.
Wind: Some
Course: Out and back by the beach and down lakeshore drive. A couple of good hills at the beginning/end of the course, juts over a mile from transition area. Wind seemed to be coming at me on the last couple of miles, which hurt a little.
Road: Smooth Dry Cadence: 82
Turns: Average Cornering: Average
Gear changes: Average Hills: Average
Race pace: Hard Drinks: Just right
T2
Time: 00:51
Overall: Good
Riding w/ feet on shoes Average
Jumping off bike Average
Running with bike Average
Racking bike Good
Shoe and helmet removal Good
Running
00:28:06 | 03.1 miles | 09m 04s  min/mile
Age Group: 11/12
Overall: 112/182
Performance: Average
Course: Down the boardwalk, out on to Harbor island, turn around and come back home. Decent hill the last .25 just before the finish line. Not very clearly marked where the finisher's chute was, almost missed it because they didn't have a volunteer there directing racers.
Keeping cool Average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall:
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3

{postbutton}
2012-07-09 2:57 PM

User image

Regular
1354
10001001001002525
Jenison, MI
Subject: Grand Haven Triathlon - Sprint Course


2012-07-11 8:11 AM
in reply to: #4301994

User image

Expert
1260
10001001002525
Norton Shores, MI
Subject: RE: Grand Haven Triathlon - Sprint Course

Nice race!  Agree with you on packet pickup..lame!

That is a nice little setup sleeping on the boat in the channel...bet it can get a little rowdy down there though across from the Kirby .

General Discussion-> Race Reports!
{postbutton}
General Discussion Race Reports! » Grand Haven Triathlon - Sprint Course Rss Feed